In February, my wife and I returned from a two week trip to Europe. We visited the different landmarks of Berlin, Prague, Nuremberg, Ansbach, Paris and London while living out of our backpacks.

Within the last couple months, I read an article (I can't find the exact article I'm referencing) that talked about how travel increases creativity. How does creativity increase when you're out and about leaving your hometown, leaving your state or country?

You're uncomfortable: I'm not going to lie, it was uncomfortable riding a bus with limited leg room in the middle of the night from Nuremberg, Germany to Paris, France. It was uncomfortable ordering food from vendors who didn't speak English since I only speak English. It was uncomfortable wearing the same winter jacket every second I was outside of the Airbnb I was staying at. Being uncomfortable put me in a position where I could either focus on the physical discomforts I was experiencing or focus on the new sights and sounds around me. My eyes were opened as to the different ways people interacted in the subways and the different types of foods that were served by street vendors.

You're disoriented: Thanks to Google maps, I didn't have to deal with being super disoriented. I just had to deal with being very disoriented. Luckily, my wife had been to Paris and London before so we weren't as lost as we were when we explored parts of Germany and Prague. We quickly learned to navigate the different subway systems and how to get from point A to point B. We had to constantly adapt to the culture and the flow of the city we were staying in.

You're separating yourself from the pack: Not everyone is willing to travel so you separate yourself from those who aren't willing to travel. There are different excuses people will use from saying that traveling is a waste of money to saying that they don't have time to travel. Don't allow your self-limiting excuses to hamper your personal growth and creativity. I am a personal believer in self-education and I know that travel is an effective form of self-education. When you increase your knowledge through new experiences, your creativity increases because you are learning new ways to solve problems and obstacles in your life.

Travel and separate yourself from the pack. The more you travel, the more you learn which results in greater creativity helping you solve greater problems in an effort to improve the world around you.

If you're a regular traveler, comment below with some of your favorite foods/music/art you've discovered! If you don't travel, tell us what you'll do differently in the comments below! And don't forget to like and share this post!

*Warning: This is not an original topic. In other words, it's an important topic that not enough people are applying to their lives.